“I never told Harper,” I admitted, shame creeping in. “He found out by accident.”
“I’m glad someone knows,” he said. “Just promise me you won’t hide anything else about your health.”
“I’ll keep you in the loop, I promise.” I smiled, then added lightly, “You sure you want to know everything? Even the women’s stuff?”
“I’m positive.”
“What if we fight?”
“I’ve tried staying mad at you,” he said, kissing the tip of my nose. “It doesn’t work.”
“And what if you’re out of town?”
“I’m just a message or phone call away.”
“And what if I disappear into thin air?”
He stopped dancing and cupped my face, his touch reverent. “Trust me, if you were to ever disappear... I’d find you.” He pulled me close and whispered in my ear. “I’ve finally found you. I’m never letting you go... never again.”
His lips met mine in a kiss so soft it stole my breath. My entire body tingled. Every fibre of my being woke up and danced. Caleb stopped and looked at me, just for a second. Passion surged when he kissed me again, more assertively this time, tongues dancing, fingers raking each other’s backs.
He swept me up in one arm and carried me to the bedroom, his breathing as quick and shallow as my own. Returning me gently to my feet, he carefully eased the zipper down at my back, and the dress slipped from my shoulders.
I stripped his jacket down one arm, but it caught on the other where our hands were still tied together.
“I need to—” he began.
“Don’t you dare,” I whispered, pulling him back into a kiss.
He kissed the scar on my chest next, and the tenderness in that simple gesture stole my breath. His lips lingered there as if he was honouring every part of me—every wound, every fear, every piece of my past I had once believed made me unlovable.
In his arms, I did not feel broken.
I felt treasured.
He drew me closer, his fingers tightening around mine as though he never intended to let go. When he guided me onto the bed, the world seemed to fade around us. There was only him—his warmth, his strength, the beat of his heartbeneath my palm.
His touch grew more urgent, more certain, and in the haze of emotion and longing, his shirt slipped from his shoulders, followed by the rest, until the barriers between us disappeared.
And then, at the height of that overwhelming wave of emotion, his voice broke through, deep and rough with feeling.
“Nyah…”
The way he said my name made my heart swell so suddenly it almost hurt. As if speaking my name was his way of telling me I was finally home.
Held tightly in his arms, wrapped in his warmth and his love, I felt something I had never fully allowed myself to believe before.
That I was chosen.
That I was cherished.
That I was loved.
And as he pulled me closer and the lights dimmed around us, the rest of the world disappeared.
“I love you,”Caleb whispered as he held me tenderly in his arms after we made love.
The words landed softly but powerfully, like they were meant to be heard in this exact moment, in this exact stillness.
